Greater Berlin proposed as 12th Federal State

The Parliamentary Council had been in session in Bonn since 1 September 1948. Its 65 voting members had been elected earlier in the state parliaments of the three Western Occupation Zones. From the military governors of the United States, Great Britain and France they received the mandate to draw up a constitution for the future West German nation. Since its members feared that the division of Germany might otherwise take on an aura of permanency, they agreed to draft only a „Basic Law“ as a provisional constitution. On 3 February 1949, the Parliamentary Council reaches an agreement whereby Greater Berlin is recognised as the twelfth Federal State and is included in the judicial scope of the Basic Law. The following May this passage will be suspended by the three Western Powers.

Source: Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin The Parliamentary Council is taking a vote